Locomotive headlight



Jan. 29, 1929.

C. B. MILES LOCOIIOTIVE HEADLIGHT Filed March 16, `192'7 M 1 .m n.. W M.3N am f M M umzug-pf Patented Jan. 29, 1929.

UNITED STATES CLARENCE IB. MILES, OFOMAHA, NEBRASKA.

LOCOMOTIVE HEADLIGHT.

Application filed March 16, 1927. Serial No. 175,695.

My invention is concerned with headlights for railroad locomotives andparticularly Tith headlights for locomotives employed for switchingpurposes. Such locomotives are usually provided at each end vvith`a stepon which braliemen and sWitchmen frequently ride. Persons l'ioardinglocomotives of this type frequently on While the locomotive is inmotion, and some danger is' involved in this practice at night when thelocomotive i 1 ht fails to provide suiiicient illumination of the stepand hand rails. The danger increased by reason of the fact that the.locomotive headlight throws a powerful concentrated light-beam whichmakes vision toward the locomotive diflicult.

lt is the obj ect of my invention to illuminate the step and hand railsof the locomotive such an extent that they are clearly visible at night.It is a further object of my invention to obtain this result Without thenecessity for any independent or additional light-sources.

l accomplish the above objects by supporting in the light-beam from thelocomotive head light a mirror Which will deflect onto the step andother parts of the locomotive a small fraction of the light emitted fromthe head light. Y

The accon'ipanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. l is a sideelevation of a locomotive equipped with a head light embodyH ing myinvention, and Fig. 2 is a front elevation oit' my improved type ofheadlight.

rllhe locomotive l() shown in the drawings has the usual bumper-beam il,step l2, and hand rail i3. My invention is not directly concerned withthe type of locomotive or with thc arrangement of the bumper beam, step,or hand rail.

Mounted on the locomotive is a headlight l5 which may be of any desiredtype but which commonly includes a light bulb 16 located at the focus ofa parabolic reflector 17 so that a beam of light consisting ofsubstantially parallel rays is produced.

ln carrying out my invention, l support in front of the eadlight and inthe path of the beam of light emitted therefrom a mirror 20. This mirror2O may be mounted in any desired fashion, but I prefer to support it inbrackets 2l which project forwardly from the front of the headlight 17.The mirrorQO may have a trunnion vmounting in such b aclicts in orderthat it may be angularly adjusted to provide illumination at the pointsdesired. rlfhe mirror may be held in any of its positions of adjustmentby means of thumb-nuts 22.

To insure that the light reflected from the mirror 2O will reach allparts of the step l2, I preferfftbly make the mirror 2O so that it isconvex both in a vertical plane and in a horizontal plane ,in order thatthe parallel rays of light incident upon it will, when reiiected,diverge both in a longitudinal and in a transverse plane.

By my invention, I provide illumination for the bumper ll, step l2, andhand rail 13 of the locomotive, thus making such parts clearly visibleafter dark and decreasing the danger in'if'olved in boarding alocomotive in motion. By utilizing the light emitted from an ordinaryheadlight, I eliminate the necessity for any independent or additionallight source.

I claim as my invention l. In combination with a locomotive having atransverse step,'bumij er beam, and hand rail, a headlight mounted onthe locomotive above said bumper beam, abraClret mounted at the bottomof said headlight and extending forwardly therefrom, and a mirrorpivotally mounted on a horiaontal axis in said bracket, said mirrorbeing locatedv in the bottom part of the path of the beam of lightemitted from said headlight and in position to reflect a poi'- tion ofthe light from said headlight downnfardly and rearwardly to illumii atesaid step, bumper beam, and hand rail over an area n'iatcrially largerthan that of the mirror, said mirror being convex in order hat the lightrays r tiected from it Will diverge.

ln combination with a locomotive havi a transverse step, bumper beam,and hand rail, a headlight mounted on the locomotive above said buniperbeam, a bracket mounted at the bottom of said headlight and extendingforwardly therefrom, and a mirror pivotally mounted on a horizontal axisin said bracket, said mirror being located in the bottom part of thepath of the beam 0f light emitted from said headlight and in position toreflect a portion of the light from said headlight downwardly andrear'vvardly to illuminate said step, bumper beam, and hand'ra-il overan area materially larger than that of the mirror.

3. In combination With a locomotive having a transverse step, bumperbeam, and hand rail, a headlight mounted on the locomotive above saidbumper beam, and a mirror supported in `front of said headlight in thelower` part of the beam of light emitted therefrom and in position toreflect a portion of the light from said headlight downwardly andrearwardly to illuminate said step, bumper beam, and hand rail over anarea materially larger than that of the mirror.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set 10 my hand at Omaha, Nebraska,this 11th day of March, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and twentyseven.

CLARENCE B. MILES.

